7 Foods to Eat with Magnesium to Get the Most Out of Your Supplements

Magnesium is essential for several processes in the body, from nerve and muscle function to energy production and bone health. While taking a magnesium supplement can help fill gaps in your diet, pairing it with certain foods can help your body absorb and use it more effectively.

1. Chicken

Chicken is a great source of protein that can help your body absorb magnesium. During digestion, proteins break down into small peptides that bind to magnesium, making it easier to absorb through your gut and helping your body reap all of its benefits.

These peptides also help protect magnesium from compounds in foods, like phytates, which can block absorption. Including lean meats like chicken in your meals when taking magnesium can help your body absorb the mineral more efficiently, maximizing the benefits of your supplement.

2. Oats

Oats are naturally rich in magnesium and contain fermentable fiber, like beta-glucan, which nourish healthy gut bacteria. A healthy gut microbiome produces compounds that can help your body absorb minerals, including magnesium.

Although the effect on absorption is modest, combining magnesium with oats, or even oat bran, gives you a dual benefit: increasing magnesium intake and supporting gut health, which can help your body better utilize the mineral.

3. Berries

Berries are rich in anthocyanins, plant compounds that can activate magnesium transporters in the gut, helping magnesium enter your body more efficiently.

They also naturally provide magnesium and other minerals, while their polyphenols may further promote absorption. Most of the evidence comes from laboratory studies, but adding berries to your diet is an easy and tasty way to potentially help your body use magnesium better.

4. Milk

Milk naturally contains nutrients that help your body absorb magnesium more effectively. Milk sugar, lactose, and milk’s main protein, casein, can both improve the absorption of magnesium in the intestines.

Milk also provides a balanced mix of calcium and phosphorus, which helps regulate how minerals like magnesium are used in the body. Together, these components make dairy products, especially milk, a reliable source of magnesium that supports bone health and overall mineral balance.

5. Bananas

Bananas are rich in magnesium and contain fermentable fiber, like resistant starch, which supports gut health and may slightly boost magnesium absorption.

They also contain compounds called phytates that may slightly reduce magnesium absorption, but the effect is minor. Eating bananas with your magnesium supplement can help increase your overall intake and support your digestive system.

6. Yogurt

Yogurt offers similar magnesium benefits to milk, with the added benefit of probiotics. These beneficial bacteria support a healthy gut microbiome, which plays a key role in how minerals like magnesium are absorbed and used in the body.

The combination of lactose, casein and live cultures can make yogurt particularly effective in improving magnesium absorption.

7. Chickpeas

Chickpeas are a legume rich in magnesium, protein and fiber. They also contain vitamin B6, which helps magnesium do its job in muscle and nerve functions.

Like other legumes, chickpeas contain phytates and tannins which may slightly block magnesium absorption. Cooking, soaking, or sprouting them reduces these compounds and makes it easier for your body to use magnesium.

Their fermentable fiber may also slightly boost magnesium absorption, as is the case with other beans.